Brown to push for 5,000 more troops

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said he believes he can secure a commitment of 5,000 extra troops for the military operation in Afghanistan from Nato and other allies.

Britain has pledged to provide a 500-strong reinforcement to help train up Afghan security forces if partner nations will share the burden.

The Prime Minister is now lobbying some of the 43 nations involved in the International Security Assistance Force to make their own contribution to a fresh push.

"I have taken the responsibility of asking others in Europe, and outside Europe actually, if they will back this strategy which is partnering the Afghan forces, mentoring the Afghan forces," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

"We need our other Nato allies to help. I am asking them to help. I think we can probably get another 5,000 forces into Afghanistan from Nato and outside Nato group and Britain will be part of that."

He spoke out as allies continued to await a final decision by US President Barack Obama over whether to send hundreds of thousands of additional US troops.

Mr Brown said his conversations with the White House had left him assured the UK strategy was "very much in line with what President Obama wants to achieve".

He said: "There has got to be burden sharing amongst the alliance and I am sending people around Europe to persuade other countries that they should commit more troops. We are having some success. But as the debate over these last few months has shown, there is a lot more that we have to do," he said.

"We are the only country actually to have said that we will provide more troops as things stand, but I believe that others will, including countries from Nato. Our strategy must be Afghan control of their own affairs. That will take some time, but then British troops can start coming home."

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister has mounted an impassioned defence of the controversial military campaign in Afghanistan, insisting it was not possible to withdraw and create "fortress Britain". He said Taliban elements could be brought into a political settlement, but stressed that they would have to renounce violence first.